Gaming machines which provide players awards in plays of primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate a play primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award for the play of the primary or base game is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the wager, the higher the award). Generally, symbols or symbol combinations which are less likely to occur provide higher awards.
Secondary or bonus games are also well known in gaming machines. The plays of secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award to the player. Plays of secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Certain plays secondary or bonus games are activated or hit upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the play of the primary or base game. For instance, a bonus symbol occurring on the payline on the third reel of a three reel slot machine may cause a play of the secondary bonus game. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is the occurrence or triggering of the play of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be).
Gaming machines typically include one or more display devices that display among other things, the plays of the primary or base games and/or the secondary or bonus games and any associated awards. Various types of display devices have been employed or proposed to be employed in gaming machines including but not limited to one or more mechanical displays (such as reels and wheels) and one or more video display devices or monitors.
Many known gaming machines include multiple display devices in the form of two or more mechanical display devices (such as two or more sets of mechanical reels that display both the primary and second games, or one set of mechanical reels that displays the primary game and one mechanical wheel that displays the secondary game). Many known gaming machines include multiple display devices in the form of one mechanical display device that displays the primary game and one video display device that displays the secondary game. Many known gaming machines include multiple display devices in the form of a first video display device that displays the primary game and a second video display device that displays the secondary game. Most known upright gaming machines include at least two display devices and are thus not substantially limited in space available to display the plays of the primary games and/or the secondary games.
Secondary or bonus games which include one or more spins of a wheel are relatively popular in the gaming industry. To capture the popularity of such wheels, many gaming machines include relatively large secondary displays that have mechanical rotatable wheels or relatively large secondary video displays that display rotatable video wheels.
While certain gaming machines have adequate space to fully display such popular wheels, certain gaming machines are substantially limited in size and cannot include multiple display devices, and particularly cannot include any secondary displays that display such wheels. For example, certain slant top gaming machines are limited in size and only have room for one reasonably sized display device. Likewise, bar top gaming machines are typically even more limited in size and only have room for one reasonably sized but relatively small display device.
More specifically, bar top gaming machines are configured to be part of a continuous bar at which drinks are served by bartenders to the players playing the gaming machines at the bar (as well as other people). Most casinos have one or more bars that have these bar top gaming machines positioned along part or all of such bars. Due to the size restrictions, these bar top gaming machines only have one display device which is typically a video display device or video monitor. Many of the bar top gaming machines are five card draw poker gaming machines or provide five card draw poker games. The above-described size limitations provide that these bar top gaming machines do not have secondary displays for displaying any secondary games such as the popular mechanical or video wheel secondary games.
Thus, to display a play of a secondary game on such a bar top gaming machine, certain known bar top gaming machines replace the entire display associated with the primary game with a display of the secondary game. This transition is often a somewhat awkward transition. Additionally, many players like to continue to see the results of the play of the primary game that led to the play of the secondary game (i.e., the trigger symbol or symbol combination that resulted in the play of the secondary game). The replacement of the entire display of the primary game by the secondary game does prevents this.
Alternatively, to display a play of a secondary or bonus game on such a bar top gaming machine, certain known bar top gaming machines display a relatively small display of the secondary game, such as a display of a relatively small wheel on a relatively small portion of the video display device of the bar top gaming machine. Certain players finds this small display uneasy to read or otherwise decipher what is being displayed. Displaying such a small display of the secondary game also occurs in a somewhat awkward transition. Additionally, this relatively small display of the secondary game takes away from amount of space available to display the wheel and thus reduces the excitement which certain players find in playing a wheel-based secondary game. Accordingly, the physical space limitations in bar top gaming machines and other gaming machines limits the ability of such gaming machines to provide a secondary game in a manner which certain players.
Accordingly, there is a need to solve these physical space display device related problems on gaming machines. There is also a continuing need to provide new and different gaming machines and methods of operating gaming machines.